Chief of Defense Staff to Serve at PM Barrow’s Pleasure

Michael Peyrefitte

In his capacity as Chief of Defense Staff, Rear Admiral Borland will serve at the satisfaction of Prime Minister Barrow, but he will not have a working mandate to oversee the affairs of the Belize Defense Force or Coast Guard.  He will, however, act as a security advisor to the Government of Belize via the National Security Council.

Michael Peyrefitte, Senator, U.D.P.

“The other concern was the tenure.  Well it’s important to understand when we were first contemplating this piece of legislation, the Chief of Defense Staff, if you notice, will be a person strictly in an advisory/consultant role.  The Chief of Defense Staff will have no operational control over the B.D.F., nor the Coast Guard, and the reason for that is [that] you want that person to serve strictly in an advisory position.  You can imagine that that person will play a key role whenever we have a National Security Council Meeting and as a member of the National Security Council, I can assure you that Admiral Borland will be there at every meeting and that meeting is chaired by the prime minister, as the head of the executive, and that’s why they want the prime minister to be the person to determine as the chairman of the council whether or not the Chief of Defense Staff is serving him or her well in the capacity as an advisor.  So essentially what where saying then, the Chief of Defense Staff will serve at the pleasure of the prime minister.”